Ranveer Singh has become the talk of the town post his marriage to actress Deepika Padukone. A couple of days after throwing a second wedding reception in Mumbai, the actor has gone back to work and begun promotions for his next, the action drama Simmba. The much-awaited trailer has been released today. Singh plays his maiden larger-than-life character as the police officer Sangram Bhalerao.
Director Rohit Shetty has tasted great success with his earlier cop drama films — Singham (2011) and Singham Returns (2014). Ajay Devgn plays a special cameo as Singham, but Simmba is not an extension of the Singham franchise. It is the Hindi remake of the Telugu film, Temper (2015).
Based on the trailer of Simmba, Shetty doesn’t seem to have deviated from the original plot that is the story of a corrupt cop Sangram Bhalerao (Ranveer Singh) who then seeks revenge against his masters for raping his sister (played by Vaidehi Parshurami).
The Hindi trailer suggests that Bhalerao a.k.a Simmba doesn't share a blood relation, but is pained to see what the poor girl has gone through.
Sexual crimes are a dark reality in India, and a superstar like Singh being part of a revenge drama does draw attention to its prevalence. However, there’s always a fear of the problem being trivialized in the garb of entertainment. Raveena Tandon’s Maatr (2017) and Sanjay Dutt’s Bhoomi (2017) are recent poor examples that handled the subject of rape.
Initially, you think that Bhalerao is another Chulbul Pandey [Salman Khan’s character in the Dabangg franchise] in the making, but the man clears the air that he is no Robinhood like Chulbul Pandey, and he is taking the bribes all for himself. So, any comparisons with Pandey end right there. From the slick hairdo to the stiff moustache, Singh has a refreshing look in Simmba.
We found the trailer to be slightly different from the usual Shetty fare we are used to. The colours are subdued, and by Rohit Shetty standards, the action, too, is a little underwhelming.
In a film like this, the heroine always struggles for space.
Sara Ali Khan, who plays Priya Bakshi, seems like an apt match for Bhalerao. She has a similar carefree attitude like Simmba.
Sonu Sood was the villain in Dabangg (2010) and he plays the baddie here too. What changes for Sood is the location. In Dabangg, he played a goon from Uttar Pradesh, while here he plays the Maharashtrian goon Vikrant Kadam.
While Singh looks delighted to be playing this central character with grey shades, the trailer comes across as below par.
Shetty has Devgn playing a cameo, but was a Singham really needed to introduce Simmba? The opening introduction of Simmba by Singham is a tad melodramatic.
One of the reasons that Singham (2011) worked so well was that Shetty didn't go too over-the-top with the character. Compared to Singham, Simmba appears a bit exaggerated. It’s quite remarkable that since Singham first met Simmba as a child, he hasn't aged at all. It isn't surprising as logic has evaded Shetty films often.
The trailer is also laced with over-the-top dialogues, especially by Simmba’s colleague (played by Siddharth Jadhav). The tone and colour of Simmba changes the moment the heinous crime comes to light. That is when it appears to have more purpose too.
Overall, the trailer can be termed as a mixed bag. It smacks of melodrama, but the revenge plot, the charisma of Ranveer Singh and the Rohit Shetty factor are likely to drive this action drama.
The film will be released on 28 December.
Watch the trailer of Simmba below: